Medicaid relief bills introduced in General Assembly

Two bills were introduced Feb. 9 in the General Assembly that would accomplish the No. 1 legislative priority of county governments in North Carolina – eliminating the county share of the state’s Medicaid costs.

More on Medicaid relief

H.B. 132, which was introduced by Rep. Edd Nye (Bladen County), calls for capping county costs at the 2004-05 level and providing for targeted relief for counties whose Medicaid-eligible population is greater than 25 percent. For counties meeting this threshold, Medicaid costs would be reduced by an additional one-third each year.

The legislation would also begin immediately phasing out the county share of 15 percent by 2.5 percent each year, until it is fully eliminated by July 1, 2010. If passed, the county share of Medicaid for 2005-06 would drop to 12.5 percent of the state share.

Also sponsoring the bill were Reps. Jeff Barnhart (Cabarrus), Beverly Earle (Mecklenburg) and Bob England (Rutherford). All four sponsors were members of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Medicaid Reform, a study committee established by the General Assembly in 2003 to examine the state’s Medicaid program. This bill reflects the recommendations made by that commission.

H.B. 149 was introduced by Rep. Julia Howard (Davie County). Her bill also includes a cap at 2004-05 levels and would begin a five-year phaseout of the county share in 2005-06, dropping the county share by three percent each year, until it is fully eliminated by July 1, 2009. If passed, the county share of Medicaid for 2005-06 would be 12 percent of the state share. Howard was also a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Medicaid Reform.

“We are pleased to see these bills introduced so early in the session,” said NCACC President Dr. J. Breeden Blackwell, a Cumberland County commissioner. “We are also pleased to see that these bills have bipartisan support.

“Medicaid relief has been our Association’s No. 1 legislative priority for several years. The Medicaid burden is keeping counties from addressing other mandated responsibilities, like schools and public safety. Our property taxes just can’t keep pace with the rising costs of Medicaid, so we are very grateful to the legislators for introducing these bills. We look forward to working with them to come up with the best possible solution to this issue.”

The NCACC has set up a special page on its Web site to serve as a resource for the media. The page includes county-by-county statistics on Medicaid and maps showing the hardest-hit counties and other pertinent information.